Foot Traffic

Running commuters reduce carbon footprints, gas bills, and road rage.

Shotgun shells, boxer shorts, and a vinyl Arthur Fiedler symphony album: These are a few of the things David Whittaker, 33, has found on his 5.25-mile commute through bucolic southern Vermont. He's also been chased by a Vietnamese potbellied pig. And then there was the bear incident.

"I was in a desolate stretch of my run," says Whittaker, whose company, NewsBank, provides Web-based research products. "I saw what appeared to be a medium-size black dog crossing the road. When I got within 10 yards, I realized it was a bear cub. And as I suspected, on the opposite side of the road coming over the embankment, was the mother."

Such are the perils-and pleasures-of "foot commuting," a transportation niche whose devotees have always fallen somewhere between dedicated and crazy. (Whittaker ran four miles out of his way that day to escape harm.) Thanks to the economy, and concern for the environment, this small but passionate tribe is attracting more converts.

"When gas hit $3.80 a gallon, I thought, If everybody took one day a week and didn't drive, it would make a big impact," says Mike Edwards, 50, of Columbus, Georgia. "Then I thought: I could do that every day."

So Edwards began driving his Ford Explorer five miles to work each Monday, bringing with him a week's worth of clothes, towels, and food. He'd run home Monday, commute by foot the rest of the week, and drive home Friday night.

"My coworkers would arrive stressed out from being behind the wheel, and I'd be happy and calm," Edwards says. "And running twice a day, I lost 15 pounds." When he switched jobs in November, he made it a priority to find work within running distance of home.

It's a lifestyle Robert Herskovitz has embraced since 1984. At least once a week, Herskovitz runs 20 miles from his home in Glencoe, Illinois, to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in downtown Chicago. It takes him three hours to run from the suburbs, along the scenic lakefront bike path, and into the health club across the street from his office, where he showers.

"I participate in three to five marathons a year," Herskovitz, 52, says. "It seems that by always having that 20-miler in the bank, I can go the distance. Doing a long run on a Friday doesn't affect family time. My weekends are more flexible, and I can sleep in an extra hour or two."

Logistical Issues

The Road Runners Club of America launched National Run to Work Day in 1997, but soon scrapped the idea, realizing it wasn't feasible for most workers. Even for those who travel a short distance, foot commuting has its challenges.

Three times a week, Lindsay Santone runs three miles to her office in Erie, Pennsylvania. Then she ducks into a lobby bathroom, locks the door, takes off her backpack full of toiletries and clothes, and (sort of) bathes. "People knock all the time," says the 24-year-old insurance specialist. "They probably wonder what I'm doing in there with the water running."

Josh Urquhart, a 33-year-old Denver lawyer, has had more than one clothing crisis. "I've run, showered, and reached into my bag, and lo and behold there are no pants," says Urquhart, who takes public transportation home. "I put on running shorts and go to Sears or Marshalls and buy the cheapest pair I can find."

Then there's the weather. When he lived in Finland in 2000, Christian Hicks, 34, wore strap-on cleats to run to work across ice-encrusted sidewalks. Now in Minneapolis, where he is employed by the Trust for Public Land, about 10 miles from his house, he has run in sub-zero temperatures. Asked if there's a point at which he'll opt for his cozier Honda Accord, he says, "I haven't found it."

Others aren't so indomitable. "It's ethereal to run through fresh Vermont powder," Whittaker says. "But ice is different. When I take my dog, Rudy, out in the morning, if I'm on my ass before I take a half dozen steps down the driveway, I'm catching a ride with my wife."

64% of online readers who commute on foot say they travel six miles or less each way; 21% go between 11 and 20 miles.